I gaze back at my wife… From where she is standing, I might not even be here at all.

Meet Daniel Sullivan, a man with a complicated life.

A New Yorker living in the wilds of Ireland, he has children he never sees in California, a father he loathes in Brooklyn and a wife, Claudette, who is a reclusive ex-film star given to shooting at anyone who ventures up their driveway.

He is also about to find out something about a woman he lost touch with twenty years ago, and this discovery will send him off-course, far away from wife and home.

Will his love for Claudette be enough to bring him back?

A Sunday Times top ten bestseller, this dazzling new novel from Costa Novel Award-winner Maggie O'Farrell crosses time zones and continents to reveal an extraordinary portrait of a marriage, the forces that hold it together and the pressures that drive it apart.

This Must Be the Place, Maggie O’Farrell’s seventh novel, is a dazzling, intimate epic about who we leave behind and who we become as we search for our place in the world.

'A tour de force...her best novel to date, a book that surely confirms her as one of the UK's most assured, accomplished and inventive storytellers' - The Observer

Waterstones has been a keen early advocate of Maggie O’Farrell since we identified her as a talent to watch in our 25 Authors of the Future list back in 2007 after supporting her brilliant debut After You’d Gone. Since then she’s continued to impress with a further six novels, including Instructions for a Heatwave and The Hand That First Held Mine for which she won the Costa Book Award.

A tour de force, a complex and nuanced story leaping effortlessly across multiple time frames... THIS MUST BE THE PLACE is that rare literary beast, both technically dazzling and deeply moving. It has all the structural and temporal playfulness of a Kate Atkinson novel while retaining the hallmark emotional insight for which O'Farrell has become renowned. It is her best novel to date, a book that surely confirms her as one of the UK's most assured, accomplished and inventive storytellers * Observer *A symphony of stories and voices... absolutely gripping... A rare talent to enthral... It will leave you bereft and wanting more * Sunday Times *Inventive, moving and hilarious. I loved it -- Rachel JoyceBeautifully executed; a graceful, insightful exploration of a relationship in all its wonders and woes * Mail on Sunday *Switching seamlessly between decades, destinations and voices, it's complex in scale, but is carried off with dazzling grace. A rich, engrossing feast of a novel to lose yourself in * Sunday Mirror *A magnificent novel that is perceptive, profound and page-turning in equal measures. There are few things I look forward to like a Maggie O'Farrell novel and she never disappoints -- Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of LoveThere is tragedy in the novel, but also sharp comedy, and O'Farrell, skilful as ever, plays with the novel form... In this rewarding and humane novel, O'Farrell brings alive the destructive effects of petty betrayals that affect everyone every day * Sunday Express *For all that it whizzed about across times zones and continents, it is seamless and each character is fantastic at the next * Metro *A new Maggie O'Farrell book is always a cause for celebration, but her seventh is so brilliant that you'll want to unfurl flags and put up bunting in her honour... Wonderfully written and absolutely addictive * Psychologies Magazine *I haven't read a Maggie O'Farrell novel I didn't love and This Must Be The Place might be her finest work yet... A beautiful, ambitious triumph * Red Magazine *Some books are for lingering over. Every sentence Maggie O'Farrell writes is so perfectly formed that you want to wallow in it. As a writer, she's perceptive, warm and particularly good at the nuances of family relationships. In This Must Be The Place, she casts her sharp but humane eye on a marriage in trouble * Good Housekeeping *Maggie O'Farrell's new novel is beautiful... [an] epic endeavour to build a portrait of a relationship in its whole, contrary and complex plurality... the reader is won over, and rapt * i Newspaper *She has, throughout her career, shown a willingness to experiment with form that many commercially successful writers wouldn't dare to do, as well as a willingness to explore difficult subject matter... epic and intimate * Herald *The result is dazzling, her most accomplished book yet * The National *Her best so far... epic but intimate too * Glamour *Exquisite... exceptionally accomplished and emotionally sophisticated'... 'O'Farrell is tremendously sure-footed at wrong-footing the reader * Scotsman *A complex, riveting novel of love and hope that grips at the heart... It will leave you bereft and wanting more * Sunday Times *One of the most enjoyable and satisfying books of the year * Daily Express *Deftly blurring the lines between holiday read and literary fiction, it's bound for the bestseller lists * Stylist *No character is wasted, no word misspent... The reach is dazzlingly epic, the tone addictively accessible. In awe. * Grazia *Fans will not be disappointed * The Times *O'Farrell's seventh novel is as captivating and as intricately written as her previous offerings * Closer *In the final pages, however, we are allowed to slow right down, to savour the culmination of everything that has come before, and to remember just how gifted a storyteller O'Farrell truly is * Irish Independent *A conjuror's sleight of hand... a deft and compelling chronicler of human relationships * Guardian *This Must Be The Place is her best yet ... At the heart of this smart, structurally interesting but never over-clever novel is the story of a relationship ... If she was a man she'd be Man Booker-shortlisted, as it is she'll have to settle for just being brilliant * The Pool *An utterly compelling story which loops between decades and the hearts of its characters with enormous warmth, wit and poignancy. -- Isabel CostelloA magnificent novel that is perceptive, profound and page-turning in equal measures. There are few things I look forward to like a Maggie O'Farrell novel and she never disappoints -- Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of LoveA tour de force, a complex and nuanced story leaping effortlessly across multiple characters and time frames... destined to be one of the most acclaimed books of 2016 -- Hannah Beckerman, Author of The Dead Wife's Handbook

What could be better than getting togther with like minded folk to discuss books whilst eating incredible food? Not much, surely? Which is why our Mowgli Book Club meetings are SO popular. Places are strictly limited and go incredibly fast. Ticket price includes a choice of special Book Club tiffin box meal.

Reviews

“Unforgettable novel of a man and his marriage....”

I have to confess that Maggie O'Farrell is one of my favourite writers and I've read all her novels and loved them all. I can easily say that this is her best so far. In this book, she tells us Daniel's...
More

“An amazing story!”

From the first few pages I was intrigued where this story would go. Slowly as you progress through the book everything will fit together as you read about the past and present. From each part you discover more about...
More

“A Great Big Hug Of A Tale From My Favourite Storyteller.”

Content, that is how I felt when I finished this special special book from Maggie O'Farrell who has surely surpassed herself with this gorgeous story of Daniel Sullivan, a man who is not quite getting life right....
More

Click & Collect

Simply reserve online and pay at the counter when you collect.
Available in shop from just two hours, subject to availability.

Thank you for your reservation

Your order is now being processed and we have sent a confirmation email to you at

This item can be requested from the shops shown below. If this item isn't available to be reserved nearby, add the item to your basket instead and select 'Deliver to my local shop' at the checkout, to be able to collect it from there at a later date.

First name*

Last name*

Email address*

Preferred contact method

EmailText message

Mobile number*

Please provide me with your latest book news, views and details of Waterstones’ special offers.

When will my order be ready to collect?

Following the initial email, you will be contacted by the shop to confirm that your item is available for collection.

Call us on or send us an email at

Unfortunately there has been a problem with your order

Please try again or alternatively you can contact your chosen shop on or send us an email at